Monday, July 11, 2016

Pickled Russian Heirloom Tomatoes {солёные помидоры}

I originally found this recipe via Peters Food Adventures and it looked so good to me I knew I wanted to try it, but adapt it to USDA canning standards. These Pickled Tomatoes originated in Russia and are a staple in every Russian home, traditionally served with a cheeseboard or with *Plov or Palava!

"Palava, or Plov is traditionally cooked by the man of the house, and is popular for weddings. But we eat it all the time for dinner, usually with dill pickles or with my Salted Pickled Tomatoes which go perfectly with Plov. Cumin, coriander and spices are quite common, but my mum never liked heavy spices and stuck to basics. We grew up calling this dish Palava, which comes from the word Palav (Палав), a Tajikistan word and alternative to Plov – which is the Russian name. It is all just a version of Pilaf, but also known as pilav, pilau, pelau, pulao, pulaav, palaw, palace, palava, plov, palov, polov, polo, polu, kurysh. No one culture really owns this word as there are many names and subcultures to the recipe. My parents were born in North West China, right beside Tajikistan, which is where the influence of the word Palava came from. Plov is the common Russian way to call this dish." (source: Peter's Food Adventures)

I just love these colorful little pickled tomatoes! They are so different from anything I've pickled before and the flavor is amazing. The next time you have some farm fresh heirloom cherry and pear, or yellow tomatoes, do yourself a favor and pickle some. They are delicious.

Brine
1 cups water
2 tsp. canning salt
2 tsp. sugar
1 cup white vinegarMethod
Wash tomatoes and remove the stems and prepare sterilized pint jars. Pierce each tomato with a toothpick in 2 places to help prevent the skins from splitting. Divide the dill, cilantro or coriander, garlic, bay leaves, cloves and peppercorns equally into the bottom of each jar.

Place the tomatoes on top of the herb/spices until the jar is full. As you layer the tomatoes, stuff equal amounts of the pepper slices in between the tomatoes, filling the gaps that are available.

In a medium pot, over high heat, add the water, vinegar, salt and sugar and bring to a rolling boil. Slowly add the hot brine into the tomato jar, covering the tomatoes, leaving 1/4-inch head-space. Add rings and seals and tighten to just finger tight (do not over-tighten).

Process pint jars 10 minutes in boiling water bath. Remove jars and place on a kitchen towel on your counter-top and let sit 24 hours undisturbed. Jars are sealed when button top on lid is fully depressed and will not move up or down.

Store in pantry up to one year. Open jars must be refrigerated.

Yield - 2 pint jars

Cooks note - recipe is easily doubled. If using quart jars double the amount of spices placed in each jar and increase amount of brine. Quart jars need to be processed 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.

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